Agencies and transparency in Norwegian local government

Authors

  • Harald Torsteinsen Department of Business Administration and Social Sciences, Harstad University College
  • Hilde Bjørnå Department of Political Science, University of Tromsø

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v16i1.16201

Keywords:

Agencies, Transparency, Municipalities, Democracy

Abstract

The NPM portfolio offers several solutions to improve organisational performance and efficiency. One of the most crucial of them is to split up integrated organisations into more autonomous operational units. The idea of arm’s length government is gaining ground in Norwegian local government and has materialised itself through the proliferation of agencies, especially in the shape of different forms of local government bodies and enterprises. Agencies are regarded as useful organisational designs for promoting transparency and, in consequence, better fiscal and political control. They are supposed to provide a more output oriented type of democracy. But does this form of government actually improve transparency and are Norwegian municipalities attuned to and prepared for this type of democracy? This article builds on case studies of local government enterprises in two municipalities. Here we ask: how transparent are the activities and outputs of these agencies; do they have specified contracts; do they have easy-to-follow structures and are the owners in control? Our findings make us question local governments’ ability to accommodate the form of transparency associated with agencies and output oriented democracy. In our cases, arm’s length government has not led to the intended increase in transparency and political control, mainly because of weak contractualisation between local government and agencies, complex ownership structures, lack of interest among average local politicians, side-lined municipal administrations and even mayors striving to get the information and the influence they deem necessary and legitimate.

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Author Biographies

Harald Torsteinsen, Department of Business Administration and Social Sciences, Harstad University College

Harald Torsteinsen works at Harstad University College and at Molde University College, teaching and guiding students in topics like organisational theory and management, with specific weight on public management and local government. His research interests lie with organisational and managerial innovations in local government and the development of local democracy. He has recently published articles in Nordiske Organisasjonsstudier and Local Government Studies and edited a book on disaggregation and autonomisation of service-provision in Norwegian local government.

Hilde Bjørnå, Department of Political Science, University of Tromsø

Hilde Bjørnå works with Political Science, local politics at the University of Tromsø, Norway. Her research interests are municipality reputation management and local political leadership. She especially focuses on municipality branding strategies, municipal agency ownership, rural development, representation/democratic theories, women and politics and central-local government relations. She has recently published Norwegian book chapters and articles in journals like European Urban and Regional Studies, Environment and planning C and Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance.

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Published

2012-03-15

How to Cite

Torsteinsen, H., & Bjørnå, H. (2012). Agencies and transparency in Norwegian local government. Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration, 16(1), 5–25. https://doi.org/10.58235/sjpa.v16i1.16201

Issue

Section

Original Articles

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